Keep a Secret
by yaoiqueen2010
Summary: A young teen named Neji struggles to keep his secret from getting out. Along the way, he goes through, drug abuse, heartache, poverty, and love.
1. The Escape

_**Keep a secret**_

My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am 15 years old. I have no parents. Both died when I was a small child. I live with my uncle and two younger cousins. We live in the peaceful village of Konoha. Well...it seems peaceful enough at first glance but, truth to be told it's not a very welcome place for just anybody.

My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am 15 years old. I am a gay male. Only problem with that is, in Konoha, being gay, is a sin.

I've kept my secret for ten years in fear of losing my life. I am starting to fear that I will no longer be able to keep my sexual orientation hidden from the others around me because; on my 17th birthday I must marry a woman. By the time I am 22 years of age, I must have my wife bear me a child. If a Hyuuga does not accomplish this task then they are deemed to be a homosexual and are put to death.

My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am 15 years old. I am a sinner. We have been taught from a young age to be gay is a sin. If that is true, then why did Kami-sama make me this way?

My name is Hyuuga Neji. I am worst than anything you can possibly think of. No murderer or rapist could be a bigger sinner than me. I am a prince. I am a prince who is attracted to males.

I lay restlessly in my bed. It is the middle of the night everyone should be asleep. Except for the guards, of course. I would have to remain silent. My uncle had two men stand by my door instead of one, after seeing my 'strange' behavior throughout the day.

I quickly dressed myself while, wondering if I should bring a bag along with me. My uncle would send the guards out to find me first thing tomorrow after noticing I was gone. Luggage would just slow me down. After a moment of contemplating, I finally opted to bringing along my schoolbag.

I filled the bag with money, clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush and matches. I looked over to my dresser. My picture book I picked it up and looked through it.

The first one is of my father holding me in his arms for the first time.

Next is of my cousin, Hinata and I at the young ages of one and two.

Next page was a picture of my cousins and me when Hanabi was an infant.

After that comes a picture on Christmas of the three of us opening gifts.

I turn to the page that contains a picture of me and all my closest friends. My eyes filled with tears which I quickly whipped away. I turn the page looking at a recent family photo. I choke on a sob. Why did it have to be like this? I didn't want to leave everything I had behind but, I couldn't stay. I just couldn't.

I sighed, closing the book. I stuff it into my bag. I scan my bedroom searching for anything else useful. My eyes fall onto the necklace I received for my 13th birthday. I quickly scoop it up; tighten my grip on it until my hand turns white. I finally release my grip and drop it into my pocket.

I open my drawer pulling out my knife which, I had received on my 5th birthday, when I begin my training to become the next heir. Uncle had no sons and therefore he had chosen me, his only nephew, to become the next king.

I drop the knife into the pocket of my bag and then, deciding I have enough supplies to make my escape, I head into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

I could have just left through my bedroom window but, I had my own personal bathroom and if the door had been locked, when morning came it would take my family longer to notice I was missing.

I lifted the window peering out; making sure nobody is standing guard outside. I feel sick. I feel like a criminal trying to escape from the police. I chuckled as I look around as if trying to spot a plane. I conclude it is safe and lift my onto the windowsill before giving it a shove, hoping no one heard the fall. I hesitate, before hoisting myself upon the window and jumping out.

I look nervously around. No one is there but, just in case I decide to stick to the shadows.

I sneak to the side of the house, trying to be as quiet as possible, I can see two guards at the main gate of the estate and thankfully, they are unaware of my presences.

I smile softly, picking up a rock I throw it to the other side of the house, grabbing their attention to the area right away.

"What the fuck was that?" The larger one of them asked.

The other shrugs, rolling his eyes. "Why don't you go check it out?"

"Maybe, I should." The big guy says. "And I think I will."

"Oh really?" The other replies sarcastically. "I think that would be wise. Don't you Katsuo?"

The big guard, Katsuo ignored or was unaware of his sarcastic remark. He moved towards the bushes, pulling out his gun.

"Who's there?" Katsuo kicked the bushes aside. He starched his head before looking back to the other guard. He began to make his way back over.

"Hey...Noboru, no one's there. Must' a been a rat or something'. I think we should check it out just in case though."

"Tsk! How could I except you to get anything done right? Stand here and make sure no one gets in or 'out' understand?" Noboru spat.

"Yes mom." Katsuo snapped after the other, before following the order and standing guard.

I smiled. Just my luck. My plan was working, I could just sneak past Katsuo seeing as though he was a complete idiot but, I just thought it would be fun to play with them a little bit, besides that fact I couldn't risk it, Katsuo may be a dummy put he was always quick to act if he saw something wrong.

Katsuo stood like a statue. I could hear him mumbling to himself.

I look through the hole in the barn door. One of the horses huff at me.

"Shush!" I hiss. There was no way I was about to let a horse rat me out.

I could see Noboru walking back towards his post.

"I guess you were right. I couldn't find a thing." He muttered while adjusting his glasses.

The horse suddenly screams which causes the other horses to panic. I see the guards turn quickly toward the stables after hearing the noise. I jump too, startled by the yell.

I quickly take cover behind the hay as I hear the men outside speaking in low serious voices.

"I'm going to go check it out." Katsuo's voice comes. He doesn't receive a reply. I feel my heart rate pick up as his footstep become clearer indicating he is getting closer.

"Hey!" He bangs his fist against the door. What the hell is wrong with you? You stupid pesky animals screaming' like 'bloody murder'. Katsuo was trying desperately to calm the animals and failing miserably. "Shut up!"

I could tell that Katsuo had realized he was not the only person in the stables.

"Who's there? C-Come out!" I could see him pull his gun from his pocket as he began taking slow steps towards my hiding spot.

"This is your last warning. If you don't want to get hurt, come out right now." He cocks his gun.

I hold my breath as he approaches. Digging in my back pocket I pull out my smoke bomb throwing it when he was close enough. He started to cough and through all the smoke he couldn't see me. This gave me time to release the horses and allow them to run free. As expected Noboru came in minutes later after losing his patience. By time he arrived the smoke had disappeared.

"Katsuo! What are you doing?" Noboru yelled after seeing the horses running around in panic.

"What do you mean?" Katsuo asked in confusion

"Get these horses back where they need to be." Noboru ordered.

"I could have sworn someone was in here..." Katsuo muttered to himself as he helped Noboru get the horses back into their correct spots. "Hey Noboru, what's this?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Noboru said crossing his arms. "Get rid of it. It's giving me a headache."

Katsuo nodded picking up the round devise.

"Noboru, I think I know what it is now..." Katsuo said.

"I don't care what it is! Just get rid...of...it...s-shit...how d-did anyone manage to get that in here?"

"Noboru, I'm feeling kinda...tired..."

"K-Knockout gas...I...g-guess there was an i-intruder after all." Noboru got out before falling face first onto the ground.

"He...And you c-call me the dumb one." Katsuo chucked before he lost consciousness.

It would have been faster for me to bring a horse to ride but finding I cannot risk making another entrance, I settled upon traveling on foot.

Once I had walked through the front gate for some reason I felt free. This had been the first time I was traveling alone. Without a guard or anyone by my side. I had just left my house by myself.

I was safe though. I still had to get out the village. I could just climb over the gate. That was exactly what I did.

I climb into a tree the stood pretty close by the gate and from there I jump onto the top of the gate.

'The view up here in the daytime would be beautiful' I think to myself with a small smile before, I remember I have to get out of the village before I am noticed.

I leap down off the gate landing on my feet. The wind blows through my hair and I feel as though I just escaped from a prison cell.

_And thus...__**my journey begins**__._

**_Hey guys, tell me what you think. It took me all yesterday to write this chapter. I hope you like it. Oh...BTW the next chappie of Still Love is a coming!_**


	2. The Blue Ship

I ran as fast as my feet could take me. I could still hear the echo of the men's deep voices in the distance. I tried desperately to pick up my speed. There was no stopping now. Surely, they would have my head if they caught me.

After a while longer of running, my vision begins to blur. My legs begin to scream at me to stop. I knew I would have to stop eventually or else my body would fail and I would pass out.

I ignored the warning my body had given me and I continued to run. My body ached everywhere but, I refused to stop. I couldn't let them find out my secret.

It seemed they had discovered that I was missing. I knew it was a bad idea to rest down but, I had convinced myself it would be fine since I was out of the village. I had fallen to sleep. I know I couldn't have slept more than an hour because it was still early.

I pushed forward running faster. I began to stumble over myself, tripping over my own feet but, I continued to run. My movement was jerky but, I continued to run. I didn't know where I was going or when I would stop but, I knew if I stop now I would surely be caught and soon enough, my secret would get out. I would be put to death.

My head was pounding. My eyes were dropping. I stumbled more as I tried to keep running but, my body refused to cooperate with me I fell to the ground.

'Get up!' I mentally yelled at myself. 'Get up, now!' I tried to stand but, I couldn't. I couldn't move. I could only lay there on the cold ground as darkness started to grab hold of me and surround me.

~~~Hyuuga Mansion~~~~

***Normal P.O.W.***

Hiashi stood outside, ignoring the cold of the morning. He had other things to worry about. He had to find his nephew.

"Did you see anyone?" Hiashi asked the two men he had stand guard last night.

"No sir." Noboru replied with a shake of his head.

"Then how will we find his kidnapper?" Hiashi muttered. "This is no good. By time we find him he could be dead..."

"Well...sir, we don't have any proof that he was kidnapped..." Katsuo cut in.

Noboru look over to the man to see he was dead serious.

"What do you mean? You think he left on his own?" Hiashi asked shaking his head when he received a curt nod from Katsuo.

"I don't get it. The kid has every possible thing. Every toy, every game, anything he ask for he gets. Why would he run away, Katsuo?"

"I don't know." The man was so serious it scared the other two men who were present in the garden. Noboru's question didn't get as much as a twitch out of him. It was like Katsuo was a completely different person. What happened to that clueless man who took every moment in life as a joke?

~~~Back to Neji~~~

***Neji's P.O.W***

I let out a groan as I wake. I sit up, taking in my surroundings. 'Where am I?' I wonder to myself. Suddenly the door opens letting a bright light flow into the room.

"Oh! You're awake." I watch suspiciously as the blond boy approaches me.

"Stay back!" I warn. I wasn't taking a chance with that guy.

"Calm down! I'm not gonna hurt ya or anything!" He says putting his hands up, as if I'm a cop.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked.

"Well kid, I'm glad you asked. The name's Naruto Uzumaki. Welcome to the Blue Ship!"

"Eh?...The Blue Ship?...what are you a pirate?" I chuckle at my comment.

"Yup! That's exactly what we are!" He exclaims.

"...You're serious?" I asked looking at him.

He nods his head.

"So…where's your crew?"

"Right in the other room, I should introduce you."

"…You're telling me…we're on an actual boat, right now?"

"Correctamundo!"

"Okay…So if I walk up those stairs I'll see the…sea." I said standing and moving towards the door.

"Uh-Uh."

I shrugged opening the door. He walked up the wooden steps, Naruto following closely behind.

***Out of Neji's P.O.V***

Once he reached the top he was surprised to see the blond boy had been speaking the truth.

"Woah!" The boy found himself leaning over the edge, as he swept the water with his hands.

"I would be careful if I were you. Wouldn't wanna fall in now." Naruto warned.

Neji turned to face him. "I've just never been on one of these before." He said a bit sheepishly.

"You've never been on a boat before?" Naruto asked, as if it was the most outrageous thing he had ever heard.

"My uncle always thought it would be too dangerous to leave the village unless I absolutely had to." Neji replied.

"How mean!" Naruto exclaimed.

"He's not mean, he's actually really nice. He's just…." Neji thought a bit.

"Strict?" Came a voice that belonged to neither him or Naruto.

"Yeah." Neji said looking to the new person. "You are…"

"Sasuke Uchiha." The dark hair boy, introduced himself.

"Neji…Neji Hyuuga." Neji said, bowing.

"Rise." Sasuke said, motioning the boy to stand with his hand. "We don't do that here."

"Oh?" Neji was a bit shocked but, he stood.

"You're welcome to leave but, I would wait to we hit land if I were you."

"Well…What if…What if I don't want to leave…" Neji asked looking up at him with hopeful eyes, praying the would let him stay.

Sasuke smirked. "Then…I guess you become a part of our crew Hyuuga Neji."

Neji looked from him to see Naruto smiling and he couldn't help but, smile myself.


	3. Meeting Kakashi

Chapter 3: Meeting Kakashi

I found myself wide awake. My stomach was aching. I felt queasy and my head was killing me. I wanted to scream. I felt like I was dying. I wanted to vomit but, I couldn't.

I wasn't use to this. It was all new to me. I'd never been on a boat, let alone had to sleep on one.

I roll over onto my stomach, pulling my pillow over my head.

"Fuck." I mutter.

_**Rock Creak Rock Creak**_

Over and over again!

I can't take it anymore! I stand up and make my way, shakily, to the door.

Every step feels like torture. Before, I'm even halfway there I have to stop. I grip hold of the wall, using it to support my weight and keep me from collapsing right there on the ground.

Why was I feeling this? It had never happened to me before.

Pushing myself off the wall, I stumble the rest of the way to the door. Tossing it open, I feel myself beginning to grow nervous. What if everyone was asleep? I didn't want to wake anyone.

I quietly make my way down the hall, hoping some fresh air will help settle my stomach.

I glance toward the moving water which makes me feel even worst. I move faster to the nearest chair and take a seat by the front of the ship.

"You okay?" Comes an unknown voice.

I look up at the man. "Yeah…I…I'm fine." My voice is only above a whisper.

"You're far from home." The man speaks again. "Won't your uncle be missing you?"

"No…I mean…He doesn't know where I am." I look down feeling a bit ashamed...My uncle didn't deserve this. I bet he was at home worrying, pacing, and panicking. All because of me...

No. I shake that thought away. This had to be done.

I suddenly feel angry at the man in front of me for asking that question.

What would he know? He doesn't know a thing about me or my family. This stranger…So why am I telling him this?

"I see." He said then turns his attention back to steering.

There is a long silence that makes me feel uncomfortable.

"So…were you banished?" He asks.

My eyes widen in shock.

"N-No. I wasn't." I say. I'm suddenly feeling defensive.

"Then what? Why are you here instead of there?" The questions just keep coming don't they.

"Why can't I be? You're out here." I say. I should be able to go wherever I want without people questioning me. Especially, since I was out the village. It wasn't anybody else's business. I was nearly 16 for God sakes

He doesn't say anything and for a moment I don't think he will reply.

"That's different." He says after a few minutes.

"How so?" I ask.

"Because, you," He pauses pointing towards me. "Are a prince." He replies, to my surprise. How did he know that?

"How do you-" He cuts me off.

"I use to live in the same village that you are from." He explains.

"Y-You did?" I asked.

"Yes. I knew your parents. To be more specific…I worked for them." He tells me.

"What?" I wasn't excepting to hear that. If this man was telling the truth, if he really knew my parents I wanted to know. I wanted to know as much about my parents as I could because, to be honest, I knew little to nothing about them. My uncle always thought it best if I didn't know.

"I worked for you parents. It was my duty to protect you Neji Hyuuga."

"Then why are you here?" I'm confused now. This man knows or…knew me. "And how do you know my name?"

"I told you. I was in charge of protecting you." He sighs.

"But you didn't answer my first question. Why are you here?" I am growing impatience now.

"Calm down. If you don't lower your voice you'll wake everyone on the ship."

He says.

"Sorry…" I mutter. "Are you going to answer my question?" I ask again.

He sighs again. "You ask a lot of questions." He finally makes eye contact with me. "You're quite nosey."

My eye twitches at that. That man has some nerve to call me nosey when he did the same to me earlier. "And you're rude." I snap back. "Answer my question."

He yarns. "Maybe some other time." He says now, looking at his wrist as if he was wearing a watch, which he's not. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Oh!" I just remembered the reason I came out here in the first place. "Um… I couldn't sleep. I was feeling a bit ill. So…I came here for some air….and found you." I explain.

"Well…you seem to be feeling better now yes?" He ask.

"Yeah. I feel much better. Thank you. I'm just not use to the rocking of the boat yet." I reply.

"If you'll be with us a while, you'll get used to it." He half-jokes.

"I hope…" I mutter.

He yarns again. I notice he looks really tired.

"Do you always do this?" I ask after a few minutes.

"Do what?" He ask, confused.

"Drive the ship." I say.

"Technically, I'm not driving I'm actually-" Before he can finish I cut him off.

'Smartass' I think. "Whatever. Just answer the question." I say getting bored.

"And you call me rude." He mutters. I growl lowly but, say nothing of it. "Someone's gotta do it. Or else this ship won't be going anywhere." He says.

"What about the other crew members can't they steer?" I asked. I thought that all pirates knew how to steer.

"They don't really know how to steer this kind of ship." He tries to explain. "It's not like out old one. It's brand new and they-"

"It can't be that hard, can it?" I say, once again cutting him off.

"Come up here a sec." He sighs out.

I shrug and walk up to him. He motions for me to look and my eyes widen at what I see.

"It's a bit complicated." He tells me. I can see for myself he's not lying as I look at all the buttons, leavers, and handles in amazement. It would be easy to forget which one starts the ship and which one stops it. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked if there was a self-destruct button somewhere in there. I then turn towards the man.

"Will you teach me?" I ask him. Excitement showing.

"What?" He ask, shocked.

"Will you teach me how to steer the ship?" I ask again.

"I don't know." He says sounding unsure.

"Please?" I beg.

"I..." He trails off, looking as if he's thinking.

"Oh. Come on!" I whine giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Fine!" He finally agrees.

"Yes!" I turn to go back to my seat when he calls out to me.

"Where are you going? Don't you want to learn?" He ask.

"Right now?" I cock my head to the side.

"Sure. Why not?" He says moving out the way so I can get to the wheel.

* * *

Hours passed. I had finally got it right. I was steering a ship. All by myself. This was awesome!

"Looks like you got the hang of it." The man says, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"By the way….I never got your name." I say looking up from the ship.

"That's because I never gave it to you." He says. "We never had a proper introduction."

"Can you tell me it then?" I ask kindly.

"I don't know. Can I?" He asked, once again being a smartass.

'You know what I mean asshole!' I scream in my mind. "Will you?" I ask politely. "Please?"

He stays silent as he walks away. He turns back to face me once he reaches the door.

"Why is it you want to know?" He asks.

"So I can thank you." I reply. "And like you said, we never had a proper introduction." Neji held a hand out to the silver haired man. "I'm Neji Hyuuga."

The man reaches out a hand grabbing the smaller boy's hand and giving it a firm shake. "Kakashi Hatake, at your service."

I bow slightly out of habit. "Thank you for teaching me."

"No problem. You're a good student, my prince." He kisses my hand.

"Please. Call me Neji." I say, feeling my cheeks heating up. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hatake." I move to bow again but, he stops me by catching my shoulder with one hand, the other is still in his pocket.

"I'd say the same to you but, I'm scared you're going to end up killing us." He releases me, putting his hands back into his pockets.

"What?" I growl. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"One rule I have for you prince Hyuuga, if you're going to steer my ship…"

"_What?_" I asks, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"Keep your hands on the wheel." He says, chuckling as I quickly uncross my arms and grab hold of the steering wheel, and with that he was gone leaving me fuming to myself. It was at that moment that I knew….Kakashi Hatake was a real ASSHOLE.

* * *

And done! I really NEED to update more. The sad thing is I type up the chapters and then just forget to update them. I'll go work on the next one now. Please review.


	4. Learn to Forget

_**Chapter 4: Learn to forget**_

"I see you met Kakashi." A familiar voice comes from by the doorway.

"Yeah." I smile at the blond haired boy. "How are you today, Naruto."

"I'm good. What about you? You look a little beat."

"Yeah," I begin, scratching my head a bit sheepishly. "I didn't get much sleep last night….I guess I'm not use to living on a boat yet." I admit.

Naruto laughs. "Well you'll get used to it soon." He stops and suddenly becomes serious. "If you didn't get any sleep why are you steering the ship?"

"Oh. Uh…Don't worry about me." I try to assure him I'm fine but, he refuses to listen.

He offers to take over the ship and I hesitate to let him, remembering what Kakashi had said.

"Oh. C'mon Neji, it can't be that hard." He whines as he walks up to stand next to me. "See…It looks pretty easy."

Easy my ass.

"I bet all you have to do is pull that and-"

Naruto continues to talk as I am still in a state of shock that ANYONE would consider that easy.

"But, Naruto," I interrupt. "It's not really as 'easy' as it looks."

"Well, at least let me try?" He asks, giving me the same look that I had given Kakashi earlier.

Who can resist that look? Damn those puppy dog eyes.

I finally give in. Besides if I could learn it in only a few hours how hard could it be to teach someone else?

* * *

This was taking forever. I'm just about ready to give up.

'No. I have to be patience with Naruto-kun. Like Mr. Hatake was with me'

A prince must have the ability to tolerate others.

"Naruto-kun, you're doing well." I say, offering a smile. I'm just trying to be nice. Maybe if I compliment him he'll do better. A LOT better.

"Thanks. This is too easy." He says. "When do we move onto the second step?"

"Well… I'm not an expert myself so for now…let's just work on this." I say. I'm not lying. I did just learn last night.

Naruto shrugs and continues on. He then looks down at all the buttons.

"So what are all these buttons for?"

"Uh." Is all I can say which, makes me feel like an idiot. "I don't know."

"Then maybe we should find out." He reaches a hand over. I grab onto his arm stopping him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Naruto-kun." I tell him. "We shouldn't mess with anything thing we don't know about.

He sighs. "If you say so."

I nod and release his hand. He retracts it muttering a 'party pooper'.

I take a seat in a nearby chair. I let out a sigh leaning back, enjoying the silence that fills the room.

"Naruto-kun…" I call, voice barely above a whisper.

"Hmm?" He response almost immediately.

"…How old are you?" I ask.

"Uh. 14. Why?"

"I was just wondering." I mutter.

"Oh." Then quiet breaks out once again. "….How old are you?" He repeats my question.

"15." I reply.

"So you're older than me, then."

"Yeah." I say. Doesn't this kid know how to count.

"I had thought you were old like 11 or 12 cause you're so small..."

"Excuse me?" I ask. I am not small.

He smirks. "I said you're small."

"I am not." I argue.

"You are too. You're probably not even 15."

"Why would I lie about my age?"

He shrugs. "I dunno."

Again there's silence. Until….

"…You know…you don't have to call me Naruto-kun."

"So what should I call you?"

"Just Naruto is fine."

"Okay….Naruto."

* * *

"I think I'm pretty good at this. Ha ha. Look, Neji. No hands."

"Wait! Naruto, don't do that." I grabbed the wheel as he releases it throwing his hands up in the air. "You can't take your hands off the wheel."

"Aww… Neji, you're no fun."

"Well…dying doesn't sound very fun to me. But if that's something you pirates like please wait until I'm not present to play that game." I respond.

If I wanted to die…I might as well have stayed in my village and yelled, 'HEY EVERYBODY I'M GAY!' I would have been killed right away, when they heard that. I wouldn't be here on this boat. I wouldn't have had to run away from home and leave everything behind, my house, my bed, my family. My eyes water at the thought of my family. My two younger cousins… My uncle.

'Stop it, Neji!' I snap in my head. I have to forget them. I just have to because there no going back. The risk is too big and I'd be a coward if I ran back home now not to mention dead…. Okay…I might be a coward for running away in the first place but, if I went back there I'd be a dead coward. At least out here I'm alive. For now.

I swallow, choking back tears.

I look down at the wheel, which my hands are gripping tightly. I notice Naruto's hands are now back on it and he is looking at me with a concerned face. I look down trying to avoid those warm, comforting eyes as he asks, "Are you okay."

I nod, turning and walking a few steps away from him. "I'm fine." I say.

"You sure?" He asks. "You don't look fine.

I nod once more. "Don't worry about me."

"But-"

"I said I'm fine! Just, keep your eyes in front of you and focus on steering the ship." I snap.

I look towards him just in time to see a look of hurt cross his face.

"I sorry." I muttered. "I just…miss….my family."

"I understand." Naruto says sadly. There's a long silence before the I finally decide to break it.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" Naruto looks puzzled.

I offers a small smile. "Do you miss your family?"

"Well…I never really knew my family."

"You didn't?" My eyes widen in shock.

"Uh-uh. I was just a poor starving orphan before Iruka found me."

I frown, looking down. I can't help but feel bad for the yellow haired boy yet I can't help but ask, "Who's Iruka?"

He looks at me. "What do you mean who Iru- Oh. That's right you haven't met him yet. Iruka is the first mate of the ship."

"First…mate?" I can't help but, blush at the word mate even though I pretty sure that's not what he means.

Naruto turns towards me and laughs at my red face.

"Yeah. That means, he's second in command." He explains, chuckling. "You'll get to meet him later."

I nod.

"Oh. So…who's the captain." I ask.

"That would be me."

"Captain Kakashi?"

"I see Neji has decided to share my teachings with you…" Kakashi smiled towards me. "It's about time someone else learned to sail this thing."

He places a hand on Naruto's shoulder, giving him a gentle push.

"I'll take over from here boys." He takes the wheel before continuing. "Why don't you boy's go get something to eat. Chouji has made a huge breakfast in celebration of our new crew member." He winks at me.

I feel my face heating up.

"I forgot all about breakfast!" Naruto nearly shouts.

Naruto takes my hand. I blush even harder as I feel his soft, warm skin touching mine. "C'mon Neji. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

I let him pull me with him.

I can't help but, wonder…what my family is doing while, I'm here on this ship getting accustomed to my surroundings. Do they miss me? Are they looking for me? Will I ever see them again? That's what hurt the most. Not being able to know if I'll ever see my family again.

I shake my head. I shouldn't think about this. Not when I have to forget them.

I HAVE to forget them because I know that there is little to no chance of me ever seeing them again and to keep thinking about them will only make it harder for me to move on.

'Going back is not an option' I tell myself over and over.

I guess I'll just have to get use to this. Living… On a ship, even if it's only a temporary thing. I don't know how long I will be here so I'll have to get use to **the life of a pirate.**

* * *

**And two chapters down. I'm got another one started too. I should have that up soon.**


End file.
